Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 83: The Sea of Ants

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The Grand Plaza was a dish-shaped basin of white limestone half a mile wide. Seven roads fed into its rim, and every road now crawled with bodies, a living tide of polished shells and rustling cloaks.

Kai found his comrade there. He and Vexor joined the flow from the eastern gatehouse, moving shoulder to shoulder with bakers in flour-smudged aprons, with smiths whose hammers still hung at their belts, with scholars ants clutching wax tablets.

High overhead, banners snapped in the dawn breeze. The Queen’s personal crest, an eight pointed star shrouded in vine leaves. Bronze loud-tubes bristled from tower balconies. Crystal screens which were invisible by day were affixed to archways around the central plaza’s rim.

By the time the second bell tolled, not a grain of bare stone remained. A hush rippled through the crowd. The air smelled of resin polish and nervous anticipation.

With a soft thrummm, every crystal screen flickered to life. A ten story size projection bloomed above the plaza’s center: the silhouette of the Eight Star rank Queen.

She sat on a throne carved from a single piece of blue amber. Her face was veiled in shadow, yet the outline of a delicate jaw, a slender neck, and a diadem of softly glowing star-gems was clear as chiseled moonlight.

Her aura was impossibly vast and rolled through the plaza like warm wind. Even the banners seemed to lean toward her.

Citizens fell to one knee. Kai knelt too, heart hammering. He felt Mia’s presence far off to the left, where nobles gathered on a marble terrace but he dared not crane to look.

The Queen raised a single hand. Silence deepened. "Children of the Hive," she began, voice smooth as river glass. "Today I speak of life, of duty... and of change."

Her tone never rose, yet every syllable carried to the furthest alley. The plaza held its breath.

"A great cycle nears completion," she continued. "Far beyond our orchards, beneath the dunes of the Crimson Waste, the Desert Ruler weakens. Even now its heart flame flickers. Soon, the sand worm Lord of a thousand years will draw its final breath."

A gasp rolled across the plaza. Kai’s antennae twitched in confusion, "Desert Ruler?" He had heard campfire legends of a predator whose coils stretched half a league, whose mouth could swallow caravans whole. But this is the first time he heard about Ruler. Many questions jumped right and left inside his mind.

The Queen went on: "The death of a Ruler is no private moment. It is a storm. When its body lay lifeless, treasures older than memory will lie exposed, treasures that can seed ages of growth... or feed ages of war."

She paused. Kai felt more than heard the collective shiver of anticipation.

"Therefore," the Queen decreed, "the Ant Kingdom shall act first. An army of one million souls will march at dawn ten days hence. Your task is clear: secure the Ruler’s carcass, gather every relic, every shard of crystal, every scrap of knowledge. Bring them home to the colony."

The plaza erupted with buzzing. Kai’s mandibles dropped. "One million?" That was a fifth of the standing defense force. Previously, Kai learnt some information about the ant kingdom. There are over five million soldier ants in this colony.

Above the noise, the Queen’s voice never wavered: "I will appoint twelve elite banners. Each banner shall be led by one of my daughters or by a royal champion or ex general whose honor needs proving. They will spearhead the advance, hold the dune passes, and report directly to me."

At that, Kai saw Darius’s silver aura flare on a distant balcony, there’s no doubt imagining his own command.

"And finally," said the Queen, "to my industrious workers: I honor your sacrifice. The forge will labor day and night. The granaries will double rations for every soldier’s family. This victory will be ours because all of us carry the weight of this kingdom."

She lifted her hand high. "In ten days, the Hive marches. For Queen. For Colony. For the endless throne!"

A roar answered her half war-cry, half prayer. The crystal screens dimmed. The plaza erupted into chaotic chatter.

Hours later, the tide of citizens had scattered. Merchants reopened stalls; caretakers swept stray petals from the flagstones. Kai found himself in the shade of an olive tree near the north well, thoughts spinning faster than a millwheel.

Mia approached, cloak hood pulled low. Her expression was unreadable. "Walk with me," she said quietly.

They crossed a bridge of pale granite that arched over koi ponds. At the far end waited the discreet gate to the outer area of the ant kingdom, the workers’ quarters where Kai had lodged after he joined the ant kingdom.

Inside, the halls were warm with resin lamps. Mia opened a small sitting room with woven mats and two low tables. She motioned for Kai to sit, poured them both enamel cups of mint water, then finally spoke.

"You looked confused back there," she said.

Kai sipped. "Princess, what... exactly is a Desert Ruler?"

Mia’s lips twisted in a wry smile. "Stories do no justice. Picture a worm made of living sandstone, its hide harder than ironwood. Hundreds of yards long. Teeth like black crystal. It swims on desert not crawls, through dunes as a shark through water, guided by sound and aura. It devours caravans, collapses fortresses. And its heart secretes drops of liquid starfire... pure condensed aura."

Kai’s mind painted the image: a colossal serpent, dunes rippling around its passage, thunder in its wake. His mind raised a question, he asked, "Princess, is it a nine-star?"

"Nine-star plus," Mia answered, raising one finger. "Rulers cannot be measured by our ladder. They are... finishing lines. Each rules a territory or mountains, ocean trenches, ice wastes. They seldom move. The world comes to them."

"Then why is this one dying?" Kai asked.

"No one knows," Mia sighed. "Old age, poison, inner rot or something else. Rulers simply reach an end. When they do, every power within a thousand leagues scrambles to pick the bones."